Modesto City Schools teachers have a deal

After a marathon 14-hour bargaining session, teachers union and Modesto City Schools negotiators reached agreement late Friday night, putting threats of strike behind them.

No details were available about the 2015-16 contract, which still must be voted on by Modesto Teachers Association members and the school board.

“We settled last night about 10:30 p.m. We told MTA that we wouldn’t share the details until they had a chance to share with members,” said Superintendent Pam Able.

MTA President Doug Burton did not immediately return messages seeking more information.

Able said teachers will vote on the deal on Wednesday and an MTA online post said details will be available at a general meeting before the vote.

Assuming the pact is ratified, it will close a bargaining period of at least a year that had become bitterly contentious. Hundreds of teachers rallied at board meetings and marched at campuses railing at administrators for what they called bullying and disrespectful behavior.

From an initial request for a 12 percent raise, teachers had dropped to 9 percent and reportedly to 7.3 percent, saying it was their final offer. The district stood fast at 4 percent, the amount granted to its other employees.

An impasse was declared in the fall and a state mediator was appointed to try to bring the sides together. Friday’s session began at 8:30 a.m. After school let out, teachers came en masse to Locust Street by the district office, protesting and cheering in turn as news came of the meeting’s progress.

“The district team and I were committed to a fair deal and were in it for the long haul, as we were at the mediation table from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 last night,” Able said Saturday.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Modesto City Schools teachers have a deal."